Reusable bottle cases



6, 1963 J. A. FRIDAY, JR 3,100,056

REUSABLE BOTTLE CASES Filed June 16, 1960 INVENTOR. John A. Friday, Jr.

his ATTORNEYS Unit aten

This invention relates broadly to reusable containers for bottles and the like and is particularly useful for beverage bottle cases, such as beer cases where the con tainer is subjected to frequent reuse.

It is well known that beer cases, for example, are subject to hard usage and frequent reuse. Generally, such cases are made of fibreboard or of wood. A beer case made of fibreboard may be reused approximately a dozen times and it will be completely worn out. Wooden cases are objectionably heavy and expensive. Men skilled in the art have attempted to develop returnable bottle cases made of material strong enough to last through many more reuses than prior fibreboard cases and yet lightweight and inexpensive enough to be favorably received. Bottle cases made of plastic material have been earlier invented, such as disclosed in United States Patents Nos. 2,535,493 to Gerber and 2,830,729 to Brackett, which have good wearing qualities, but are lacking in other respects hereinafter discussed.

The packaging equipment of the present day brewery, as well as the handling of the cases in transit and at their ultimate destination, scuifs the sides of the ordinary cases so severely that after several reuses it is very difficult to discern any of the information printed on the sides of the case.

Another problem has been how to attach top flaps thereto which are suitably hinged for frequent openings and closings that will not readily pull out or break off and will lie flat upon closing and will stay closed or open as desired.

Still another problem particularly present with plastic cases is that of slippage. Entirely smooth plastic surfaces permit the cases to slip or slide in stacking or in palletizing them or when transporting stacked cases.

In my invention, I provide a reusable case for bottles and the like comprising, in combination, a unitary molded container having side walls, end walls, a bottom wall and opposed top flap elements, all of said elements and walls being integrally formed complete in a single piece of plastic material and a plurality of longitudinal and lateral cell-forming partition members disposed in said container, said end walls having handle means comprising openings in the upper central portions thereof, said top flap elements having lockable closing means selectively engageable with said handle means. I further provide hinge means comprising thinned flexible portions in said top flap elements adjacent said side walls. In addition, I provide convex bulges in the side and end walls at the corners of the container. Further, I provide roughened surfaces on particular portions of the container to prevent slippage between the cases from occurring when stacking or transporting them.

Thus, I have invented a bottle case that is a unitary container which is integrally formed as a single piece of plastic, which is tough and durable and may be used many times over and above the ordinary case. My case ice has a lockably closable top for the complete protection of the bottles contained therein and bulged corners for the protection of the printed material on the sides and ends of the container.

The advantages of a unitary structure are, inter alia, that the case is free of connections that are weaker than the case itself. There is less likelihood of weak spots. It also eliminates costly assembly operations and thus, is not only stronger but less expensive.

Other details, objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent as the following description of a present preferred embodiment thereof proceeds.

In the accompanying drawing, I have shown a preferred embodiment of the invention in which FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of a preferred embodiment of the invention;

FIGURE 2 is a transverse cross-sectional view taken on the line IIII of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view taken on the line III-III of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view taken on the line IVIV of FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged detail cross-sectional view of the hinge area in a preferred embodiment of the invention; and

FIGURE 6 is a partial isometric view of one end of a preferred embodiment of the invention.

Referring now to the drawing and initially to FIGURES 1 and 3, I have illustrated a returnable bottle case comprising a container 9 molded of a plastic material such as polyethylene, having end walls 10, side walls 11, a bottom wall 12 and top flaps 15, all of which are integrally formed complete as a single piece of plastic. Longitudinal partitions 13 and lateral partitions 14 intersect to form cells 16 into which the bottles being encased are placed. Partitions 13 and 14 may be made of the usual fibreboard material because wear is not particularly a problem with the case interior including the partitions. Although the partitions are not integral with container 9 and in that sense are readily removable; nevertheless, when placed in their intersecting cell-forming relationship within the container, they do provide a substantial measure of support to the container walls and thus augment the natural rigidity and strength of the case.

End walls 10 have hand openings 17 formed therein in their upper central portions to provide handle means for lifting or otherwise handling the case. Additionally, as best shown in FIGURE 4, end walls 10 have a thickened portion 10a the purpose of which is to reinforce the area of end walls 10 adjacent hand opening 17. This is necessary to prevent end walls 10 from pulling out or tearing in the area near hand opening 17, which area bears the weight of the case and its contents when it is lifted by hand holds 17. Bottom Wall 12 has openings 18 formed therein centrally indexed within cells 16, as shown in FIGURE 2, to provide drainage means whereby the interior of the case may be readily cleaned with or 'without removing partitions 13 and 1 -5. Not only do openings 18 perform a drainage function, but they also lighten the container considerably so that the actual weight of the case is substantially the same or only slightly heavier than prior fibreboard cases. This is an important consideration because one of the main objections to the earlier wooden cases was their heavy weight and this was one of the factors that led to their substantial replacement by the fibreboard cases.

As shown in FIGURE 2, the adjoining ends of the Walls 10 and 11 have :been offset outwardly to form convex bulges 19 at the corners of the container. Bulges 19 protect the sides and ends of the cases from scufiing that otherwise occurs, as for example, when the cases Iu'b against the side rails of various conveyor devices. In my invention the bulges 19 provide the rubbing and bumping surfiaces and the Walls therebetween are thus protected.

Top flaps 15 have hinges or thinned portions 20 illustnatively detailed in FIGURE 5. Hinges 20 are formed stood that the invention is not limited thereto but may be otherwise variously embodied within the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. A reusable case for bottles and the like comprising, in combination, a unitary molded container having side Walls, end walls, a bottom wall, and opposed lockably closable top flap elements, all of said elements and Walls being integrally formed complete as a single piece of plastic material and a plurality of longitudinal and lateral cell-forming partition members disposed in said container, said end walls having hand openings in the upper central portions thereof, said container having protective bulges formed at its corners in the side and end Walls, said top flap elements having hinge means comprising a thinned flexible portion adjacent said side Walls and lockable closing means comprising tab members integrally attached and depending from the edges of said top flap elements adjacent said end Walls, said end walls and tab members having interengaging locking elements adapted when engaged to hold the top flap elements against opening.

2,093,280 Koppelman Sept. 14, 1937 6 Boeye Mar. 29, 1938 Seharfi Ian. 14, 1947 Riemenschne-ider Oct. 23, 1953 Knieriem Dec. "11, 1956 Vahle Apr. 19, 1960 Mitchell May 3, 1960 Gustafson Oct. 24, 1961 FOREIGN PATENTS Great Britain Aug. 28, 1947 Great Britain Sept. 19, 195 1 

1. A REUSABLE CASE FOR BOTTLES AND THE LIKE COMPRISING, IN COMBINATION, A UNITARY MOLDED CONTAINER HAVING SIDE WALLS, END WALLS, A BOTTOM WALL, AND OPPOSED LOCKABLY CLOSABLE TOP FLAP ELEMENTS, ALL OF SAID ELEMENTS AND WALLS BEING INTEGRALLY FORMED COMPLETE AS A SINGLE PIECE OF PLASTIC MATERIAL AND A PLURALITY OF LONGITUDINAL AND LATERAL CELL-FORMING PARTITION MEMBERS DISPOSED IN SAID CONTAINER, SAID END WALLS HAVING HAND OPENINGS IN THE UPPER CENTRAL PORTIONS THEREOF, SAID CONTAINER HAVING PROTECTIVE BULGES FORMED AT ITS CORNERS IN THE SIDE AND END WALLS, SAID TOP FLAP ELEMENTS HAVING HINGE MEANS COMPRISING A THINNED FLEXIBLE PORTION ADJACENT SAID SIDE WALLS AND LOCKABLE CLOSING MEANS COMPRISING TAB MEMBERS INTEGRALLY ATTACHED AND DEPENDING FROM THE EDGES OF SAID TOP FLOP ELEMENTS ADJACENT AND INWARD OF SAID END WALLS, SAID TAB MEMBERS HAVING A CATCH PORTION PROJECTING THEREFROM ADAPTED TO ENGAGE AN END WALL IN THE HAND OPENING THEREOF, SAID BOTTOM WALL, BULGES AND TOP FLAP ELEMENTS HAVING ROUGHENED OUTSIDE SURFACES WHEREBY HORIZONTAL AND VERTICAL SLIPPAGE BETWEEN STACKED CASES IS LESSENED. 